In New York during the Roaring Twenties, Miguel Covarrubias, already a successful artist in his native Mexico, earned high acclaim as an illustrator for Vanity Fair. At the same time, Rosa Rolanda danced on Broadway in Irving Berlin's "Music Box Revue" and other productions. Born in California as Rose Cowan, she fashioned a stage identity with a surname from her mother's Mexican American family.

Rosa and Miguel met, fell in love and married in 1930. After traveling extensively, they settled in Tizapán, outside Miguel's birthplace of Mexico City. In their home they hosted friends Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and others from the art, literary and film worlds.

"Anyone fortunate enough to be invited to one of Rosa's famous luncheons would not soon forget the experience," says Adriana Williams, 80, who met Miguel during her childhood, befriended Rosa later and has written extensively about the couple, including the biography "Covarrubias," published in 1994. "He or she would be hard-pressed to recall whether it was the gracious setting, the spectacular food, the always-fascinating guest list, the stimulating conversation, or the charm and warmth of the hostess that had made the occasion so unforgettable."

"I think this exhibition has several themes. One is knowing who Rosa and Miguel were. Miguel was a very important illustrator and artist in his own right. ... She was a photographer and an artist in her own right," says museum Director David de la Torre. "We have her entire collection of photographs and negatives and it's an important photography collection."

The photographs on display include ones taken by Rosa as she stopped in villages where she purchased pottery and captured scenes, such as two women making tortillas, during her travels to archaeological sites throughout Mexico. Some show Rosa in her traditional Mexican kitchen, while others celebrate architectural design elements, including the floor-to-ceiling tile work found inside a convent kitchen in Puebla.

The more than 100 objects featured make up part of the Rosa and Miguel Covarrubias Collection, encompassing 2,500 pieces of ceramics, folk art, paintings and personal photographs, given to the museum by Williams and her late husband, Thomas.